Electric-annunciator system



(No Model.) 3 She et.'s-Sheet '1.' E. R. WILDER.

ELECTRIC ANNUNGIATOR SYSTEM.

No. 495,127; PatentedApr. 11,1893.

@51 4 after/14mg (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. R. WILDER. ELECTRIC ANNUNGIATOR SYSTEM.

' o. 495,127. PatentedApr'. 11,1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND R. WILDER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ELECTRlC-ANNUNCIATCR SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,127, dated April11, 1893.

Application filed June 23, 1892 To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND R. WILDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric-Annunciator Systems, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention relates to electric annunciator systems specially adaptedfor hotels and apartment houses. Its object is to provide in a simpleform a system by means of which the occupant of a room or apartment maycall the office and indicate what he wants.

In general the invention consists of the combination of a transmitter, areceiver and an annunciator so constructed and operated that any wantout of a number of difierent Wants or calls may be transmitted andreceived at the office after the attention of the clerk or operator atthe office has been attracted.

The details of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a face view of thetransmitter showing portions immediately back of the dial plate indotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the transmitter. Fig. 3 isa section of the transmitter taken on line 00 a: of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aface view of the receiver. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the receiver, the

1 front of the casing, the dial plate and the index being removed, andFig. 6 is a diagram of the entire system showing the annunciator at theoffice, several transmitters and the receiver, conventionally.

The transmitter is inclosed within a cylindrical case A mounted upon acircular base A and having a dial A upon which is pasted or otherwiseattached a circular sheet of paper having printed upon it around itsedge a series of points, and adjacent to each point a word indicating aWant, such for instance as Ice water, Boot-black, Cocktail, Porter, &c.The dial is stationary. Centrally mounted in the box is a shaft acarrying a pinion a forming the last wheel of a train, the first wheelof which is at Acoiled spring a on the shaft with the wheel a is adaptedto be wound up and when freed to rotate the wheels of the train and theshaft a. An es- Serial No. 437.726. (No model.)

cape wheel a, and a weighted pallet a is also provided to regulate themovement of the train. To the shaft carrying the spring a is rigidlysecured a hand-lever a provided with a handle a which projects outsideof the cylindrical case and is adapted to move in a slot in said casethrough an angle of about ninety degrees. The normal position of thishandle is shown in Fig. 3 in full lines and the extent of its movementis shown by the dotted lines. When the handle is moved downward, thespring is wound up, while the wheels remain stationary and on the returnmovement of the handle which is effected by the power of the springs,the wheels rotate and turn the shaft a one complete revolution. Thelever a carries apin a which engages with a springarm I) at the lowerend of its movement and forces said spring-arm into contact with anasthe handle a has moved the arm b against the arm I), the lever c isforced over on to the shoulder of the lug b and thus locks the arm bincontact with the arm I). The outer end of the shaft 0 carries a lever cwhich is parallel to the dial and immediately behind it. At theextremity of this lever there is a pin 0 pointing inward. The centralshaft a carries a large wheel (1, the periphery of which is regularlynotched as shown in Fig. 1, and upon this periphery the toe of ametallic spring 2 bears. One of the teeth of this wheel is made with abroad surface as shown at d and when the parts are in their normalpositions the spring 6 is resting upon this tooth, and when in suchposition is held in contact with a second spring c. When the toe of thespring e is in one of the notches in the periphery of the wheel theconnection between the two springs is broken. The springs are mountedupon a block of insulating material e properly supported. Wheel d isprovided with a hole (1 Upon the base of the appa- ICO ratus directlyback of the wheel d is mounted anelectro-magnet f whose armature f ispiv oted atf The outer face of the free end of the armature carries apin f which is adapted to enter the hole d in wheel d. The opposite ortail end of the armature is connected with a spiral spring f and windingscrewf by means of which the amount of pull necessary to be exerted bythe magnet may be regulated. The outer end of the shafta carries asleeve or cap a to which is rigidly secured an index a in front of thedial and a finger a back of the dial and in the same plane with pin inthe end of the lever 0 The sleeve fits friction-tight upon the shaft sothat it will be carried around with the shaft, but the fit issufficiently loose that the end of the sleeve or cap may be grasped inthe fingers and twisted independent of the shaft for the purpose ofsetting the index at any point on the dial. The electric conductorsconnected with this box lead to the postsp and n, respectively, thencefrom post 19 through the electro-magnet f, to spring arm I), to arm I),to spring 6, to spring 6 and to the post 4%. When the box is in itsnormal condition the circuit is broken between the arms I) and b andclosed between the springs e and 6.

Y I now refer to the receiving apparatus illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.The apparatus is inclosed in a casing G, the upper part of which i iscylindrical and the lower part rectangular,

as shown. In the center of the cylindrical part is mounted a shaft g,upon which is secured a wheel g whose periphery is provided with thesame number of notches as the wheel din the transmitter. This wheelcarries a lug g which bears against a dog 9 when the parts are in theirnormal position, the index hereinafter described, being at zero. Aspring It bears upon the periphery of the wheel g and acts as a brake. Ametallic pin 9 projects from the face of the wheel and a spring contactarmz' attached to the frame normally rests upon the end of this pin. jrepresents a verge pivoted to the frame at j and embracing a portion ofthe periphery of wheel 9'. Its dogs Work in the notches of said wheeland with each vibration of the Verge on its pivot the wheel is turnedthe space of one notch. 76 is an electro-magnet whose armature is isfastened to the Verge as shown. The magnet acts upon one end of thearmature and a coiled spring k acts upon the other end of the armaturein opposition to the magnet. P is a rod mounted in suitable bearings andsurrounded at its upper end by coil springp which tends to lift the rod.The rod carries two pins p embracing the dog 9 It also carries a lug 19located just above and in line with the armature k. The lower end of therod projects through the casing and is provided with a ring or handle 19by means of which it may be pulled downward. The front of thecylindrical portion of the case is covered by a dial having the samemarks and wants upon it as appear on the dial of the transmitter beforedescribed and located in a similar position. The shaft 9 extends throughthe dial and carries an index Z and a small wheel or nut by which theshaft may be rotated by hand.

Referring now to Fig. 6, Q represents an annunciator frame fitted withdrops q, an electro-magnet q operating the same, there being one dropforeach room or point where a transmitter is located. These drops areshown conventionally but it will be understood they may be of anypreferred construction. 0, r, r, represent keys or circuit changers,each having a front and a back stop and normally resting in contact withtheir back stops. l0, l1, and 12 represent the transmitters in threedifferent rooms of a hotel; their corresponding annunciator drops areshown in frame Q. WVires s, s and 3 connect the transmitters with therespective keys r and from these keys the circuit leads normally throughthe annunciator drops, thence out by wire t, to post 25' on thereceiver, thence to shaft 9 of the receiver, to wheel g of said shaft,pin 9 arm '5, wire i post 15 and finally through battery B and wire 25to the transmitters. When a key 1" is closed the circuit through theannunciator drop is broken and a new circuit completed through battery Bto post if, wire i magnet 70, wire 25", wire t and back to thetransmitter through battery B as before described, thus throwingbatteries B and B into series on the same circuit.

The operation of the system is as follows: The normal condition of allthe parts is shown in the drawings. If the occupant of room 12 wishes tosend in a call for ice Water, he proceeds to the transmitter in his roomand turns the index a until it points to Ice water. He then pulls thehand lever down to the full extent of its movement and lets go. Thisputs the springs b b into contact and the arm 0 falls into the shoulderof lug and locks the two contacts together. This completes the followingcircuit: spring 1), wire 2, magnetf, wire 3, post 19, wire 8, key a",back stop of key, annunciator drop 12, wire t, post t, shaft g,

wheel g, pin g arm 'i, wire 13 battery 13*, wire i post n on thetransmitter, spring 6, spring 6, wire 4 and spring 1). Battery B thencauses the annunciator to drop but it is not sufficiently strong to makemagnet fin the transmitter pull down its armature. The clerk at theoffice knows that a call has been sent in from room 12-and in order tofind out what is wanted he goes to the receiver and pulls down the rodP. This removes the dog 9 from the stop 9 and turns the wheel 9 thespace of one notch by reason of the movement which is imparted to thearmature by the rod. This breaks the circuit between the spring 11 andpin 9 He then closes the key 0 corresponding to annunciator drop 12 andthereby throws battery B into circuit with battery B and theelectro-magnet 7c of the receiver. This additional battery is sufficientto release the transmitter by causing magnet f to pull down its armaturethereby removing the pin from the hole (P. The spring which has beenwound up by the movement of the lever then turns the train of wheelscausing the central shaft with the index to make one completerevolution. We will assume that the want Ice water is marked upon thedial of the transmitter a distance of twenty-five notches or teeth fromthe broad tooth d. The same word appears on the dial of the receiver atthe position to which its index would be moved when the circuit has beensuccessively closed and opened twenty-five times. Now as soon as theindex of the transmitter has rotated until the circuit has been openedand closed twenty-five times by the springs e, e the trip a strikes thearm 0 and releases the contacts I), I) thus opening the circuitpermanently and stopping the index of the receiver at the wordice-water. The index of the transmitter mean-' while finishes itsrevolution and stops with the tooth (1' under spring e and with the arm0. at its highest point. After the call is noted the clerk turns theindex back to the position of zero to be ready for another call.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an electric signalingsystem,the combination of a transmitter, a receiver, an annunciator, agenerator and circuit normally including the transmitter and annunciatoronly, a make and break switch in said circuit, a second generator andcircuit including the transmitter and receiver only, and a switchingapparatus adapted to cut out the annunciator and put the transmitter andreceiver into circuit with both generators, substantially as described.

2. A transmitting apparatus consisting of a motor train and winding armtherefor, a signaling circuit completed by pulling said arm, a signalsetting device moved a prescribed distance by the motor after being set,and a circuit breaker operated by the signal.

setting device during said prescribed movement, a receiving apparatusconsisting of an electromagnetic motor in the signaling circuit and anindex moved by said motor, all in 3. In a signaling system, thecombination of a transmitterhavinga signal sendingtrain and a detenttherefor, with a receiving instrument having a motor and a detenttherefor, means for manually releasing-the detent of the motor, amanually operated switch, abattery and connections whereby the switchmay be operated to throw increased battery on to the circuit for thepurpose of releasing the detent of the transmitter train, as set forth.

4. In a transmitter, the combination of a motor train, a lever forwinding the same, a circuit closer operated by said lever, a lock forsaid circuit closer, an index or signal setting device carrying a trip,and making a complete rotation at each movement and asignaling circuit,the said trip being adapted to remove the lock from the circuit closerwhen the signal has been sent in, during the rotation of the indexsubstantially as described. 5. The combination with the winding train ofa transmitter, of a winding lever for the same,the circuit closer I), b,locking arm 0 spring 0 moving the locking arm in one direction, lever 0connected with arm 0 a'signal setting device moved by the train and atrip a carried thereby, the trip adapted to strike the lever c and movethe locking arm 0 against the power of the spring for the purpose setforth. I

In testimony whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

EDMUND R. WILDER. Witnesses: FRANK S. OBEB, JAMES F. KAVANAGH.

